SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Our submissions are currently…

Please read the guidelines below carefully before submitting, as works that do not follow these guidelines will not be considered.

Salt & Mirrors & Cats is a new literary zine that brings literature and superstition to your home. We are currently CLOSED to submissions to our debut issue, and the deadline to send us your work was 23:59 (UTC) August 15th 2023.

We accept short stories, flash fiction, poetry, essays, and artworks. We welcome a variety of styles and genres, but submissions must be connected to the theme of superstition.

Tell us of a time when salt was spilled, a mirror was broken, or a cat crossed your path. Tell us of luck, causality and fate. Tell us you believe things can get better, even when the odds seem stacked against you.

We welcome submissions from all over the world. There is no fee to submit, but accepted authors will be paid.

We will aim to confirm your acceptance from late August to mid September.

RESTRICTIONS

All work must be original and created by you. We do not accept previously published work, or creations made by using AI platforms.

Please do not send us work containing gratuitous violence or sexually explicit content. We will not read or consider pieces that contain ableism, racism, misogynism, or any other form of abuse or prejudice.

Superstition is a field with a complex history, but our objective with this zine is to show that we can make it into something positive. Join us in creating mysterious and cosy lore!

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

SHORT STORIES

Short story submissions must be between 1300 and 3100 words.
When accepted you’ll receive £25, and a free digital copy of the zine.

POETRY

Poems should be no longer than 20 lines in length.
When accepted you’ll receive £15, and a free digital copy of the zine.

FLASH FICTION

Flash fiction must be between 70 and 700 words.
When accepted you’ll receive £15, and a free digital copy of the zine.

ESSAYS

Essays must be between 1300 and 3100 words.
When accepted you’ll receive £25, and a free digital copy of the zine.

ARTWORKS

Artworks (i.e. digital illustration or photography) must be in black and white.
When accepted you’ll receive £25, and a free digital copy of the zine.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Short stories, poetry, flash fiction and essays should be double spaced and in a readable font, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Texts can be sent either as a a word file (.doc or .docx), or pasted to the body of your email. As for artworks, please format your piece as an A5 at 300dpi, and send it as a .jpg up to 10mb in size.

The subject line of your email should include your author name, the category you’re submitting to, and the title of your work, e.g. ‘Superstition Sam, Poetry, The Unlucky Charm.’

We would also like you to send us a short third-person bio so that we may introduce your work to our readers.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

All authors and artists shall retain the rights to their work. By submitting to Salt & Mirrors & Cats, you agree that your writing or artwork may be used for promotional purposes. For instance, as well as being published in the zine, full texts or snippets of accepted pieces may also be released in audio format on our podcast.

You are welcome to submit several pieces within the same category, or different categories at once, but only one of your submissions will be considered. Simultaneous submissions are welcome but please inform us immediately if your work has been accepted elsewhere.

Author payments will be communicated upon acceptance, and subject to the category you were accepted to. Payments will be made via PayPal in British Pounds.

Last but not least, the Salt & Mirrors & Cats team would like to thank you for your interest and for travelling through the world of superstition with us. We are so glad to have you with us and we are looking forward to reading your submissions!

GOOD LUCK!